Hole-in-one for Topgolf Gateshead
The council unanimously approved £40m plans for the redevelopment of the former Federation Brewery into a three-storey leisure facility with 102 hitting bays, a bar and restaurant, and rooftop terrace.
The former home to Newcastle Brown Ale, the brewery stopped operating in 2010 and its buildings were demolished in 2013.
Since then the plot, which is immediately east of the Metrocentre, has been mainly vacant.
The site is bounded by Cross Lane and Wellington Road to the north and west, Lancaster Road to the east, and the A1 to the south.
Developer Topgolf has worked with architect Mountford Pigott on the scheme, and estimates the development will create 300 construction jobs and will need up to 400 staff once open.
Although councillors at the meeting acknowledged that the project doesn’t align with a draft plan of the area in terms of not addressing housing needs and the need for green space, they decided the economic benefits and the regeneration it will bring to the area outweigh those issues.
